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Longmont teen's head in the clouds as she heads for Air Force Academy

By Whitney Bryen, Times-Call community reporter

Posted:
05/22/2014 09:34:14 AM MDT

Updated:
05/22/2014 04:33:30 PM MDT

Jamie Kirkland, 17, goes through the pilot checklist for a Cessna 152 at Vance Brand Airport on Jan. 26. Kirkland, a licensed pilot, will graduate from Longmont's Silver Creek High School on Saturday and attend the U.S. Air Force Academy beginning in June. For more photos and a video, visit timescall.com. (Cliff Grassmick / Daily Camera)

Before she was old enough to drive herself to the airport, Jamie Kirkland was flying an aircraft.

Now, the 17-year-old drives a Honda Pilot, which she said is a coincidence, with a license plate frame that says, "I'd rather be flying."

The Silver Creek High School senior was 13 years old when she got her first ride in a small airplane, a Aeronca Champ that holds a pilot and one passenger, and began flying gliders at 15.

The clouds were mesmerizing. Kirkland was at home in the sky from her first flight, but it was just recently that she began to discover that aviation is more than a hobby — it was part of her pedigree.

Kirkland's biggest inspiration has been her grandfather, Roman Herrmann, who worked as a machinist on Mustang planes and served in the Air Force as a flight simulator technician training fighter pilots.

St. Vrain graduations

9 a.m. Saturday: Skyline High School

10 a.m. Saturday: Erie High School, Frederick High School, Niwot High School, Longmont High School, Silver Creek High School, Lyons High School

11 a.m. Saturday: Mead High School

Boulder Valley graduations

6 p.m. Friday: Boulder Universal

7 p.m. Friday: Monarch High School

8 a.m. Saturday: Peak to Peak High School

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8:30 a.m. Saturday: Boulder High School

9 a.m. Saturday: Broomfield High School

9:30 a.m. Saturday: New Vista High School

10 a.m. Saturday: Arapahoe Campus, Centaurus High School

10:30 a.m. Saturday: Boulder Prep

1 p.m. Saturday: Nederland High School

2 p.m. Sunday: Fairview High School

Herrmann helped pay for Kirkland's training, which totaled about $7,000, attended every flying lesson and was the first passenger in Kirkland's cockpit after she got her pilot's license in October.

"She was absolutely confident," Herrmann said. "She fits in there like she's supposed to be in that seat."

In addition to her grandfather, Kirkland has two cousins who are commercial pilots and another that is a flight attendant. One of her great uncles was a Naval pilot during World War II. Another great uncle was a bomber pilot for the Army Air Corps and another was a recreational pilot. Kirkland's brother, Kyle, has taken flying lessons, but does not have his pilot's license.

"It's in my blood," Kirkland said.

The ingrained obsession skipped a generation with Kirkland's parents, but her passion has inspired them to volunteer with the Antique Airplane Association of Colorado, where Kirkland discovered her love of flying.

Following graduation Saturday, Kirkland will carry on her family's legacy of aviation by attending the U.S. Air Force Academy.

After graduating from the academy, Kirkland is planning to join the Air Force and apply for flight school. One day, Kirkland would like to design and build aircraft.

Kirkland is one of six students in the St. Vrain Valley School District who will be attending the Air Force Academy this summer.

Four of those students are from Silver Creek High School, an exceptionally high admission rate for the academy's rigorous admissions process, said Lt. Col. Felix Roge, the district's liaison officer.

Longmont and Niwot high schools also had students accepted into the academy.

In typical years, two to four students from the district will be accepted to the academy, Roge said. He sees an average of 20 applications from St. Vrain students every year competing against about 20,000 applications nationwide.

Kirkland stood out among the district graduates in Roge's recommendations to the academy and in national standings, having received a nomination from Vice President Joe Biden.

Of the more than 60 applications Roge has seen in three years as the district liaison, Kirkland is the only student that had her pilot's license, he said.

Since getting her license, Kirkland has taken her mother and father up in the 1970s Cessna 152 that she calls "a motorcycle with wings."

Kirkland is anxious to take her friends for a ride and continue sharing her passion with others.

"I love being able to show them this different view of the world," Kirkland said. "It's a new perspective and it's something to be shared."

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